Performer Information

Amy Morris, flute

Amy Morris has ﻿﻿an eclectic career encompassing orchestral and chamber music performing and teaching. She is the second flutist with the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, with which she has played since 1997. Amy has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, Omaha Symphony, Mankato Symphony, Sarasota Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Rome Festival Orchestra, Cedar Rapids Symphony, and the American Wind Symphony. Amy is a founding member of the Prairie Song Project, Indånde trio, and Second Winds. Amy has commissioned and performed music around the US and Europe. She is the flute instructor at Hamline and St. Catherine Universities in St. Paul. She holds performance degrees from The University of Iowa (BM) as a student of Betty Bang and Roger Mather and Northwestern University (MM) as a student of Walfrid Kujala.

Mary Goetz is an active soloist and collaborative pianist in the Twin Cities area. A native of Wisconsin, she received her performance degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the New England Conservatory of Music. In addition to performing she teaches piano in her studio in St. Paul and is on faculty at the K&S Conservatory in Woodbury and the Minnesota Valley Conservatory of Music in Burnsville.

The Başgöze – Pinto Piano Duo (Susana Pinto and Pınar Başgöze) has received significant acclaims, being described as: “wholly unified,” “musically captivating,” “technically powerful,” and “passionate.” A native of Lisbon, Portugal, Susana Pinto is currently on piano faculty at MacPhail Center for Music, and a DMA candidate in piano performance and pedagogy at the University of Iowa. She received her BA in piano performance at the Escola Superior de Musica de Lisboa under the tutelage of Tania Achot and her MA in piano performance and pedagogy from Central Michigan University. Pinar Başgöze, a native of Ankara, Turkey, received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in piano performance under the tutelage of Professor Banu Perk at Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory in Turkey, studied piano pedagogy and performance with Professor Maria Curcio in London, and piano performance with Dr. Paul Shaw at the University of Minnesota School of Music. She is currently on faculty at MacPhail Center for Music.

Clarinetist Janet Greene is a Professor of Music at Hamline University. She directs the wind and percussion program, conducts the university wind ensemble, and teaches clarinet, music theory and history. As a professional clarinetist Janet has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and select chamber music organizations and freelance ensembles in the Twin Cities. Prior to coming to Minnesota, Janet taught for two years at the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, and before that made her living as a freelance musician in New York City. Her professional interests focus on promoting new music for the clarinet and the historical performance practice of the 18th century clarinet. Janet has recorded two CDs, “The Lyrical Contemporary Clarinet” (2010) and “Russian Journeys” (2015).

Clarinetist Nina Olsen has been a member of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra since 1990, and Is a founding member of the Second Winds Chamber ensemble. Olsen is a frequent performer on faculty recitals at Carleton and MacPhail and performs regularly with Thursday Musical. As a freelance performer, she has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, Minnesota Sinfonia Sinfonia, Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra and Plymouth Music Series (Vocalessence). Currently on the faculties of Carleton College and the MacPhail Center for Music, Olsen has also served on the faculties of St. Cloud State University and St. Olaf College. Olsen holds degrees from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and the University of Denver. Her principal teachers include Burt Hara, John Anderson, Fred Ormand and Ramon Kireilis and Bil Jackson.

Pat O'Keefe is a multifaceted performer who is active and in demand in a wide variety of musical styles and genres. He has performed as a soloist with symphony orchestras and wind ensembles, wailed away for belly dancers, and rocked samba in the streets. He draws upon this multiplicity of experiences and interests in his performances, which employ a "superb control of extended techniques," and have been described as "passionate," "explosive," and "breath-stoppingly exquisite." He is currently the woodwind player for the new music ensemble Zeitgeist, based in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has also performed and recorded with such groups as ETHEL, California E.A.R. Unit, and Cleveland New Music Associates. Pat is also drawn to the music of other cultures, and has studied Brazilian, Turkish, and Korean music with acknowledged masters. He performs regularly on both woodwinds and percussion with the groups Batucada do Norte, Choro Borealis, and Music Mundial in the Twin Cities. Pat holds a BM (with Performer’s Certificate) from Indiana University, an MM (with Academic Honors and Distinction in Performance) from the New England Conservatory, and a DMA from the University of California, San Diego. He has received grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and in 2015 he was awarded a Performing Musician Fellowship from the McKnight Foundation. He currently teaches at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls.